Hi All,

I am a new R55 owner - having bought Roxy about a month ago.

Currently, I have about 105500 kms (about 65500 miles I guess).

Last week,I noticed a puddle under Roxy and quickly determined that it was coolant dripping from what I determined to be the infamous thermostat housing. It seemed like coolant would coolect under the Clubman after every time I drove her.

Make a long story short, my oil level has remained steady (no burning issues) and has not turned milky. I have been topping up the coolant reservoir every time it gets to the half point mark.

Funny thing is the past two days, the leak appears to have stopped. No puddling, and the coolant level has remained steady. Granted, a week ago, I did quite a bit of driving, then this past week, it was just the usual to-from work driving (about 15 kms one-way).

Question now is do I bite the bullet and go ahead and replace the thermostat housing which from what I've seen in forums and You Tube can be a PITA? Do I leave it until it rears its ugly head again? or, do those fiber renew or radiator/gasket/water pump sealers work if I threw that into the engine?

So far, no warning lights on the dash, and have bee enjoying driving my HCB Roxy.

Thanks in advance for all your advice!!!

 

It happened and will happen again.
Weather is getting better and you might have time to get parts and fluids.
This way you can pick 'when' you want to repair it.
From what I've read of others, you 'will' be repairing it .. maybe soon.

 

Best to electively repair vs emergently.

 

 

Okay, I hear the message loud and clear.

I do have the tools, some of the know how (as a weekend warrior, I'm not a stranger to getting grease under my fingernails), now, I gotta find time to actually do it. I am not one to part with my hard- earned cash in favor of the almighty stealership.
Besides, I've always believed that you get to know more about your car by working on it yourself
Next question I guess is if it's worth it to buy OEM part or will an after market part be equally good?

Thanks again.

 

 

I am a new-to-me R55 owner as well, and I too am probably needing to do this replacement as well (maybe sooner, than later).

I negotiated a deal and bought my R55 site unseen (only photos), and the owner drove it several hundred miles too me. The following day, and a freezing cold day at that... I found that my heat was not working as well as it should. I soon discovered that I was low on coolant. Topped it off, problem solved. A few days later, low again. Sometimes it'll let out a little poof of steam after rigorous driving. Sometimes I'll drive it several days and use virtually none. I've been driving it for a few weeks and I've just been keeping a close eye on it. After doing some research, and having a close look with a bathroom mirror, I still cannot say for certain, but my best educated guess... is the thermostat housing.

I was contemplating buying one of these cheap $38 new ones off eBay, and digging into it when the Ohio weather was a bit more cooperative.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-fit-Min...t/282396285199



Anyone see an issue with these?

 

Looks like it comes with a one year warranty. I say go for it. I've had good luck with OEM products for the minis. So far everything I've bought off ebay was made either in Germany or other European countries. The only issue was a cheap ebay ECT sensor for my old honda. Let them know it was faulty and they immediately refunded the money. I went and bought one from autozone and was back in business.

 

Hey Tom,

What you described seems to be exactly what I have been experiencing. This past week as I have described, my coolant level has not gone down, and no puddles under my R55.

Parts are so much more expensive up here in Canada. Even if I do source the part off Ebay, shipping still kills us up here. :-(
Currently sourcing this a thermostat housing so that I can tackle this job.

 

I've been adding coolant for a couple months due to a thermostat housing leak. It leaked every time I parked it, and I topped it up almost every time I drove it. It hasn't gotten any worse, and the other day I decided to pull the intake duct off to see if I could see the crack. The crack was facing upward, and it was tiny. I decided to try $5 Rislone leak stop from Walmart (I'm in Canada too). I added half the bottle while the car was warm, drove it around a couple times, and it's not leaking any more. I know people hate this stuff and they'll tell you it will clog the heater core bla bla but they install it in some cars from the factory. I only drive my car once or twice a week, so I'll see how it goes. If I have to add more than one bottle of the stuff, I'll order a new housing.

 

I was too ashamed to mention it, but I did the same thing this past weekend. I found a bottle of Prestone Stop Leak on my garage shelf that I had forgot I had. I was reluctant to use it, but read the directions and it's promises of what it would do and what it would not do. I ran it through a couple heat cycles, and I've driven it a couple times now. It's no longer leaking. I'm not holding my breath, but....

I may still buy one of those inexpensive thermostat housings, just to have on hand for if/when it starts leaking again.

 

Haha I have no shame I guess. I wasn't going to do it until my uncle told me his Dodge Diesel started leaking a few years ago on a road trip and he used the Prestone stuff, and it never leaked again. Walmart was the only one open the other night, and all they had was the Rislone. It's probably all the same. Mine is an R56 S and I was discouraged from ordering a cheap housing by another thread on here where a guy was having problems figuring out the wiring because there are a few different versions of housings and/or wiring adapters for the sensors. If the crack area on mine stays dry for a few weeks I might clean it off with some alcohol, and put a glob of epoxy on the area to help keep the crack from spreading.

 

hmmmm another creative canuck. I am sooo tempted to pick up either the Prestone or Rislone stuff from my local Crappy Tire. . .so far, my leak has been behaving, but I know I'm running on borrowed time here. What to do, what to do. . . . .

 

To anyone considering doing this repair, and especially if you are adding/replacing coolant or adding other chemicals... PLEASE read this:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-surprise.html

 

Hey Mr. Surly,

Thanks for that link. Very interesting write up (scary as well).

As for me, I have been topping up with a coolant I picked up from a local auto store - (Lordco). I specified that I needed coolant that was as close to OEM that they had - Coolant is made in Germany and is also a blue colored liquid.

So far, my leak has bee 'behaving.'

What is the correct OEM thermostat housing part number to look for? I have a 2008 N12 engine.

I have to start pricing this out and get on with the repairs.

Thanks!

 

Go here https://www.northamericanmotoring.co..._directory.php
and pick from vendors who support the forum and have them verify your application. ECS and Pelican both come to mind as suppliers I've used and I'm happy with them.

Tips from my limited experience:
1. I used the "Genuine MINI" labeled t-stat just for peace of mind.
2. use the proper MINI coolant or true equivalent
3. DO REPLACE the 'water pipe' while you are in there!
4. When filling, DO use the bleeder screw on the t-stat housing to ensure complete fill
5. DO NOT over-tighten this bleeder! It's plastic, it's delicate. But it's sealed by and O-ring so it does NOT require high torque to seal. just gently snug it.
6. closely inspect the coolant tank as they tend to crack.

 

Thanks for the mention, and unlike the other non forum sellers we are here to help as I have replaced mine and other parts in the past as mentioned in the big Thermostat DIY thread.

Actually thanks for posting this as they are stealing our pics we shot in-house.

We have had good results with the Bremmen part version, low cost alternative, 3 year warranty. Other than that most people like the updated Genuine MINI unit. Has 2 year warranty, we offer. Those ebay shops and Amazon shops you have to watch as they dont really know MINI and cannot help you if there is an issue. They never installed them themselves. Parts are linked in the thread, good to read up on tip and tricks in the thread before you do this.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...hermostat.html

+1 Surly has some great tips and that bleeder you just have to be careful as you can lose it if you back it all the way out and not slowly. Also just tighten snug, you can strip and break it off.

 

Thanks for these tips MrSurly. No doubt this will be invaluable piece of info once I get my repair going.

 

This is all awesome/ I will contact you in the am - hoping that shipping to Canada will not cost too much. Alternatively, I have access to a PO Box in Point Roberts, WA that I can have the part(s) shipped to.

Cheers,

 

Welcome.

That might work better on the ship to US. Glad to help.